When it comes to social media marketing, many businesses assume that starting a Facebook page or Twitter account and periodically posting information is enough. Social media avenues become nothing more than an information dump or, worse yet, just another method of spamming one’s clients.

Consider making the following changes to boost your social media platforms:

1. Forget ROI/Sales Numbers
Marketing and business executives are wrapped up in determining the return on investment of everything they do. In response to one company’s question about the ROI on social media Gary Vaynerchuk said, “What’s the ROI on your mother?”

Social media is first and foremost about relationships. It gives you the opportunity to connect with your clients and customers on a personal level, which is near impossible to measure quantitatively. There is little-to-no way of knowing if a client purchased your goods or services because of an advertisement you ran, an open house they attended, interaction with your customer service agent on Facebook, or a mix of the above.

Relationships take time, so don’t go into social media expecting to see immediate results.

2. Publish Quality Content
Your followers don’t care what you had for breakfast, nor do they want fifteen reminders each day that you are offering yet another sale. That is the equivalent of email spam that gets ignored.

People like social media because it’s a way to connect and catch up on what is going on in the world. Offer them something of value, and they will stick around.

3. Be Yourself
You and your business both have a personality. Let that personality come through your social media pages. If you’re funny, be funny. If you’re more open than most people, share some heart warming pictures and stories. Your followers will be able to tell if your social media “voice” is different than your own. It will seem stiff, stuffy and hard to connect with.

4. Remember, You are Human
People want to connect with other people, it’s the main purpose behind social media, so act like a person. If you are constantly publishing news releases, sales items or even quality content through blog posts and articles, and fail to include the human aspect, people will get tired and move on.

Here are some ideas on acting like a human:

Ask questions

Post pictures

Respond to comments and posts

Like peoples’ comments

Tell stories

Mention family and friends

Don’t be afraid to disagree

Share what you’re passionate about

People will connect with you more when they know a human is on the other side of the screen.

5. Get Offline
Social media is a great tool to connect with others, but at some point, you need to get out from behind the computer and connect with your followers in person. Consider hosting an open house or a Tweet-up. Let your followers know when you will be speaking or traveling to other locations. Ask followers to meet up for lunch or connect at a convention.

When they start to connect with the person behind the screen, your followers are one step closer to experiencing brand loyalty, and you are closer to a sale.

Hi Jason,
I enjoyed reading this. I sometimes feel folks are missing the human aspect of social media and that it’s the relationship that counts.
“What’s the ROI on your mother?” got me!
Thanks for a great post,

Eleanor

http://www.jasonvana.com Jason Vana

Eleanor,
I’m glad you enjoyed the post. I’ve noticed a lot lately that people have been using social media more as an information dump than a platform to genuinely connect with clients, peers and other professionals. There has to be a mix of sharing information (so we can learn from each other) but leaning more toward social. It’s a platform for connections, not info dumping.

http://softvoiceofafreespirit.blogspot.com Irene

Hi Jason, thank you for this post! This made me realize how ignorant I still am with regards to using social media for my blog.

http://www.jasonvana.com Jason Vana

Irene,
You are not the only one. I have seen a lot of bloggers do not use their blog’s Facebook fan page correctly. Many just have their blog post a link and maybe put a personal update on there once in a while. That’s an info dump that doesn’t allow people to truly connect.

I made the decision personally not to have a Facebook page for my personal blog (not this one). I post the links on my personal Facebook page so there is the mix of info dumping and connecting. I know some people have created a Facebook page for themselves, and use that as their main way of connecting.

If you need any help or more ideas to help boost your social media presence, don’t hesitate to ask!

Danblackonleadership

Love the list of ways to act like a human. So simple but a lot people people need to remember this factor.

http://www.jasonvana.com Jason Vana

It felt weird typing those points out, or even having to make the point to act human to begin with, but it seems when it comes to social media, some people turn on the auto posters and expect to build a platform. Doesn’t work that way.

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